Medical Hand and Arm Protection Apparatus and Method of Protection

ABSTRACT

A medical hand and arm protection apparatus and method of protection comprising a protective shell which is capable of receiving a patient&#39;s hand and arm. A sheet is attached to the protective shell, which is tucked under the patient to anchor the hand and arm protector in place. The protective shell also has one or more perforations that allow the medical professional access to the interior of the surgical arm protector to view the patient&#39;s IV sites and other medical equipment attached to the patient&#39;s hand or arm.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of, and claims thebenefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/007,304, filed Jan. 14,2011, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY FUNDED SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to medical hand and arm protectors, and inparticular to medical hand and arm protectors capable of allowing accessto intravenous (IV) sites, and other medical equipment connected to thepatient's hand and arm during surgery, medical treatment, and/orrecovery.

2. Brief Description of the Related Art

During many types of surgeries and medical procedures, includingneurosurgery, cardiac surgery, ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgery,robotic-performed surgeries, pacemaker procedures, I-port procedures,and other local procedures, the arms of the patient must be tucked totheir side. Most commonly, the patient's arm is placed on a piece offoam either on the bed or a sled and taped to another piece of foam thatis placed on top of the patient's arm. The draw sheet that the patientis laying on is then pulled over the arm and tucked back underneath thepatient to secure their arm.

The inventors have observed that this process of tucking the patient'sarms commonly requires up to 15 minutes of valuable time in theoperating room. In addition, the inventors have recognized the potentialfor nerve injuries to the patient's arm, burns to the patient's hands,and the lack of easy access to IV sites using the prior art apparatusand method.

Nerve damage can result either because the arm is pulled too tight, thearm is not resting on a sufficiently padded surface, or because the armis not positioned anatomically correct during the tucking process.Ulcers from decreased blood circulation can also result when thepressure points of the arm or bony prominences are not padded properly.In addition to during surgery and other medical procedures, nerve damagecan also occur in patients that are bedridden, especially when thepatients are unable to move their arms.

The inventors also recognize the risk for burns to the patient's handsduring surgery. If the patient's finger tips are not properly coveredduring surgery, the fingers may come in contact with a hot surface,including the bed, the sled, or a cautery that is being used during thesurgery.

As described above and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,963 to Doody, surgical armprotectors are known in the art. However, the prior art arm protectorsdo not allow adequate access to the patient's IV sites, and othermedical instruments connected to the patient's arm or hand duringsurgery, medical treatment, and/or recovery. Specifically, all patientshave at least one IV connected to their hand or arm ranging from theantecubital region of the arm, forearm, wrist, and/or back of the hand.In addition, in some cases, patients require an arterial line which isusually placed in the wrist to draw blood to monitor the patient's bloodpressure and blood oxygen level. In order to draw blood from this line,the anesthesiologist must have free access to this line. However, withthe prior art apparatus and method of tucking, the anesthesiologist isfrequently required to get under the sheet to reposition and re-tuck thearm because the arterial line is extremely sensitive. The pressure fromtight tucking causes movement and sometimes loss of the line. Inaddition, the arterial line and the other IV lines can get caught in theframe of the bed and the other appliances clamped to the bed duringsurgery if they are not properly stowed and secured. Easy IV site accessis even more challenging in robotic surgeries where the patient isplaced in a sharp trendelenberg position.

It would therefore be desirable to develop a medical hand and armprotector that is capable of providing support and protection of the armduring surgery, medical treatment, and/or recovery, while also allowingthe medical professional access to IV sites and other medical equipmentthat is connected to the patient's hand and arm.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a medical hand and arm protectionapparatus comprising (a) a protective shell capable of receiving apatient's arm and having a top section and a bottom section, whereinsaid top section has at least one perforation along its width, and (b) asheet attached to said protective shell.

The present invention is also directed to a medical hand and armprotection apparatus comprising (a) a protective shell capable ofreceiving a patient's arm and comprising at least one perforated panel,said perforated panel comprising two vertical perforations connected byone perpendicular perforation, said perpendicular perforation and saidtwo vertical perforations forming a releasable flap when saidperforations are broken, and (b) a sheet attached to said protectiveshell.

The present invention is also directed to a method for protecting apatient's hand and arm during surgery, medical treatment, and recoverycomprising: (a) placing the patient's arm in the protective shell of thesurgical hand and arm protection apparatus described above and (b)tucking the sheet of the surgical hand and arm protection apparatusunderneath the patient's body.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood from consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments, inconjunction with the drawings as described immediately below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first side of the first preferredembodiment of the medical hand and arm protection apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the second side of the first preferredembodiment of the medical hand and arm protection apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first side of the first preferredembodiment of the medical hand and arm protection apparatus showing thereleasable flaps formed when the perforations are broken.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the second end of the first preferred embodimentof the medical hand and arm protection apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the second end of the second preferredembodiment of the medical hand and arm protection apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the first side of the second preferredembodiment of the medical hand and arm protection apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1-6, the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention may be described. The medical hand and arm protectionapparatus 10 is comprised of a protective shell 12, connecting strap(s)14, and a sheet 16. The protector 10 is universal for both right andleft arms of patients.

In the preferred embodiments, the protective shell 12 has a first end 18and a second end 20. The shell 12 is open at the first end 18 such thata hand and arm can be slid into the shell 12, and closed at the secondend 20 to fully cover and protect the hand and fingers of the patient.The hand and arm can be slid into the shell 12 either flat (i.e. top ofhand facing up and palm of hand facing down) or on their side. Theprotective shell 12 is preferably made of foam or other material that islight in weight, soft, inexpensive, and capable of being manipulated.The shell 12 is preferably cylindrical in shape, but it may berectangular or other suitable shapes. The shell 12 is preferably 27inches in length. However, for child patients, the shell is preferablyshorter in length. The interior of the protective shell 12 is largeenough to fully engage and enclose the patient's hand and arm, and themedical equipment that is attached to the patient's hand or arm,including but not limited to, IV lines, pulse oximeters, and massagingarm wrap devices.

Protective shell 12 is perforated. A perforation is defined as a line ofsmall holes for tearing. Perforation 22 is located at the first end 18of shell 12 and extends completely around the circumference of the shell12. Perforation 22 can be broken which allows the shell 12 to beshortened to adapt it to the length of the patient's arm. In thepreferred embodiments, the shell 12 has at least one perforation 22preferably 1.5 inches from the first end of the shell 12. The shell mayhave an additional perforation 22 which is 1.5 inches from the firstperforation. Thus, in the preferred embodiment, the shell is 27 inchesin length and, through use of the perforations 22, can be quicklyadapted to 25.5 inches or 24 inches in length. The number ofperforations 22 and the distance between perforations 22 are variable.

In the first preferred embodiment, the protective shell 12 has a topsection 24 and a bottom section 26, and a first side 28 and a secondside 30. Along the first side 28 of the protective shell 12 isperforation 32. Perforation 32 extends longitudinally along the entirefirst side 28 of the shell 12. Perforation 32 preferably runs along themiddle of the first side 28 of the shell 12.

The top section 24 of shell 12 is the top cross-section of the shell 12.Conversely, the bottom section 26 of shell 12 is the bottomcross-section of the shell 12. The top section 24 of protective shell 12has perforated panels 34, 36, 38 which allow the medical professionalaccess to the hand and arm. In the preferred embodiment, perforation 32is laterally intersected by three perforations 40, 42, 44, which createperforated panels 34, 36, 38. Perforations 40, 42, 44 extend laterallyalong the entire top section 24 of the shell 12. The first perforatedpanel 34 is in the hand region of the surgical arm protector 10. Thesecond perforated panel 36 is in the wrist region and the thirdperforated panel 38 is in the elbow region. The elbow region includesthe brachial, antecubital, and forearm sections of the arm. Thus, forexample, if the medical professional needs to check the IV site locatedin the patient's wrist, perforated panel 36 is utilized by breaking theperforations of longitudinally extending perforation 32 and laterallyextending perforations 42, 44. Breaking the perforations of perforatedpanels 34, 36, 38 forms releasable flaps 62, 64, 66.

The second end 20 of the protective shell 12 also has one or moreperforations 46 which extend longitudinally along the second end 20.Through use of the perforations 46, the medical professional can checkthe medical equipment attached to the patient's fingers, such as a pulseoximeter. The perforations 46 allow the medical professional to breakthe perforation 46 and use their fingers to pull the foam on either sideof the broken perforation apart to view the interior of the second end20 of the protective shell 12. In an alternative preferred embodiment,as shown in FIG. 5, the second end 20 of protective shell 12 has one ormore perforated panels 48 created by two longitudinally extendingperforations 50, 52 intersected by one laterally extending perforation54.

On the first side 28 of the protective shell 12 is one or moreconnecting straps 14. In the preferred embodiment, the connecting strap14 is a VELCRO® connector where one piece of the VELCRO® connector isattached to the perforated panels 34, 36, 38 (releasable flaps 62, 64,66 when the perforations are broken) of the shell 12 and a complementarypiece of the VELCRO® connector is attached to the bottom section 26 ofthe shell 12, directly below perforated panels 34, 36, 38. With theconnecting strap 14, the medical professional can check the patient's IVor other medical equipment connections by breaking the perforations ofthe perforated panels 34, 36, 38, thus forming releasable flaps 62, 64,66. The releasable flap(s) can then be secured by the connectingstrap(s) 14. The connecting strap 14 need not be a VELCRO® connector,but instead can be any other means for connection as known to thoseskilled in the art, including hook and loop fasteners. In thealternative preferred embodiment where there are perforated panels inthe second end of the protective shell 12, connecting straps 14 may alsobe utilized.

Attached to the first side 28 of protective shell 12 is a sheet 16. Thesheet 16 is attached to the protective shell 12 by means well-known tothose skilled in the art, including but not limited to, gluing andstitching. The sheet 16 is preferably attached directly below perforatedpanel 36. The sheet 16 is preferably 16 inches in length and 16 inchesin width, but it may vary in size. The sheet 16 is made of a durable,nonabrasive, nonflammable, impermeable material that is capable ofwithstanding tearing and puncturing, such as the material used formedical gowns. Once the patient's hand and arm is inserted into thesurgical hand and arm protector 10, the sheet 16 is tucked underneaththe patient. As a result, the body weight of the patient anchors theprotector 10 to the patient's side. When both the patient's arms andhands are in hand and arm protectors 10, the two sheets 16 may beconnected underneath the patient to further secure the arms to the sideof the patient. The means for connecting the two sheets 16 is of thetype that is well-known to those skilled in the art.

In a second preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the protectiveshell 12 has a top section 24 and a bottom section 26. The top section24 is the top cross-section of the shell 12, while the bottom section 26is the bottom cross-section of the shell 12. Instead of havingperforated panels 34, 36, 38 in top section 24 as in the first preferredembodiment, the top section 24 preferably has perforations 56, 58, 60.Perforations 56, 58, 60 extend laterally across the entire top section24 of shell 12. Perforations 56, 58, 60 allow the medical professionalto break the perforation and use their fingers to pull the foam oneither side of the broken perforation apart to view the interior of theprotective shell 12. Perforation 56 is in the hand region of thesurgical arm protector 10. Perforation 58 is in the wrist region andperforation 60 is in the forearm and elbow region. While three laterallyextending perforations is preferred, the number of perforations andtheir location can vary. In both the first and second preferredembodiments, each component of the hand and arm protection apparatus ispreferably biodegradable.

The present invention has been described with certain preferred andalternative embodiments that are intended to be exemplary only and notlimiting to the full scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A medical hand and arm protection apparatuscomprising: (a) a protective shell for receiving a patient's arm,wherein said protective shell has one open end and one closed end and atop section and a bottom section, wherein a first perforation extendslaterally across said top section, wherein said first perforation isoperable to be broken to access an interior of said protective shell;and (b) a sheet attached to said protective shell.
 2. The medical handand arm protection apparatus of claim 1, wherein a second perforationextends laterally around a circumference of said open end of saidprotective shell.
 3. The medical hand and arm protection apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein a third perforation extends longitudinally at saidclosed end of said protective shell.
 4. The medical hand and armprotection apparatus of claim 1 wherein said protective shell is made offoam.
 5. A method of protecting a patient's hand and arm comprising thesteps of: (a) placing a patient's hand and arm in a medical hand and armprotection apparatus, wherein said medical hand and arm protectionapparatus comprises a protective shell and a sheet attached to saidprotective shell, wherein said protective shell has a top section and abottom section, wherein a first perforation extends laterally acrosssaid top section; and (b) tucking said sheet of said medical hand andarm protection apparatus underneath said patient's body, therebyanchoring the medical hand and arm protection apparatus to a side ofsaid patient's body.
 6. The method of protecting a patient's hand andarm of claim 5, further comprising the step of breaking said firstperforation to access said patient's hand and arm.